The two great commandments are the guts of Catholic morality.

One of the Pharisees, a scholar of the law, tested Jesus by asking:  “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

The humoroous part of this Gospel was that this particular scholar of the law was giving Jesus a religion exam and using a trick question to catch Jesus in an embarrassing theological mistake.  As in last week’s Gospel in asking Jesus:  “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not,” the Pharisees seek to engage Jesus in debate and to win the argument.  Good luck with that.

Jesus responded:  “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  The second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

These two commandments are the currency of God’s kingdom, a currency completely different from last week’s Roman coin and completely  different from the self-centered transactions that too often characterize our contemporary way of life.

Jesus summarizes in the two great commandments  the two stone tablets on which God was said to have engraved the ten commandments.  The first tablet set out the three laws concerning the love of God – such as the command not to take His name in vain; the second tablet contained seven commands regarding love of neighbor, such as stealing and adultery.

Love is the hinge that binds the two tablets of the law.  For we can’t love God, whom we can’t see, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we can see.

Jesus is not attempting to do away with the law and the prophets by reducing everything to the so-called new commandment.  This commandment becomes the lens through which everything is to be seen.  It is the interpretative key for understanding all of revelation.

The love command is the guts of Catholic morality.  Church practices and rules are there to help us avoid everything that is opposed to the “love command.”  Sin in our lives is when we do not live up to our baptismal commitment, to our discipleship witness of loving God and our neighbor.

If you ask yourself, what does God want of us, what is God’s priority for us?  God’s priority for us is that we love our neighbor as ourself.  For Jesus, our neighbor is anyone and everyone, unconditionally, no exceptions.  To say again, for Jesus, our neighbor is anyone and everyone, unconditionally, no exceptions.

Jesus teaches that we only love God as much as the neighbor we love the least.  Since Jesus teaches that we only love God as much as the neighbor we love the least, whom do I need to begin looking at differently this week if I hope  looking more – and acting more – like God?

We can recall the story of the Good Samaritan to remind us that our neighbor is everyone who is in need in any way.  This is a call to universal love.  It is not an invitation to try to figure out those whom we don’t have to love.  Our Church is still struggling with how to love those who don’t follow the rules, how to love who do not conform, how to love those who reject the teachings of our Church.  This is all part of learning how to love.

May the next rosary we pray be for those it is difficult for us to understand and for those it is difficult to love.

In a family or in a religious community or in a parish community, it is not easy to love those who reject the way of life of the family, of the religious community or of the parish.  Loving these people does not mean rejecting the way of life handed down by the Lord.  It does mean seeking ways to love those who reject it.   This is part of the ongoing challenge of following Jesus Christ.

Indeed, the love we are called to is far more than a simple affection or warm sentiment.  We must give ourselves totally to God – loving with our whole beings, with all our heart, soul and mind.  Our love for  our neighbor must express itself in concrete actions.

In the second Scripture reading, Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about being examples for others.  He see that the Thessalonians have followed the example of Paul and Jesus, and have themselves become examples for all other Christian communities.  We don’t do it for our own glory, but we also don’t want to put  this light under a basket since it may inspire others to do more.

A beautiful example in our parish life of showing love in concrete terms is our baby shower benefitting the Focus Pregnancy Help Center.  We need to help people choose life with concrete actions so that they choose life giving solutions rather than abortion.

Our generosity with the diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal helps in a concrete way for the Church of Rochester to respond to the needs so many needy people.

When we see our neighbors as God sees them, we will treat them with the clarity of God’s compassion.  How can I see my neighbor as God sees them?

The law of love has compassion at its base.  Compassion means feeling or suffering with others.  Unless we have some sense of the needs of our neighbors, the sufferings of our neighbors, we cannot really be compassionate.  We can give because this is what we are told to do, but my hope for us today, is that we can be compassionate as God  is compassionate, love as God loves, and show that love by treating everyone as we would want to be treated were we in the same situation.

May we be transformed by God’s grace, who desires us to care for all among us who are in need, not just because particular laws govern us but because the love of God and love of neighbor burns in us.